Have you ever been to the beach? Sand… and sun… and fun! (or not so fun when you leave and the sand is stuck to your hair, skin, clothes, shoes… )
Playing in sand can be soothing and fun! Dry sand runs through your fingers and falls like water while wet sand clumps and holds firm and solid.
Engineering a sand castle is an awesome way to develop planning skills, practice trial and error, patience, fine motor skills, and more!
What do you do when you can’t get away to a beach or sandbox and you really want to play with sand? How about making your own sand?!
Ms Carleen’s Facebook Live class on June 22, 2021 was all about kinetic sand and moon sand! You can also watch it on IGTV
Here are some recipes you can try – experiment with ingredients to find your favorite combination!
Two ingredient kinetic sand
Supplies:
- 2 cups Flour
- ¼ cup Oil – baby oil or vegetable oil (for kid safe version)
- Optional coloring:
- Powdered tempera, crushed chalk or any oil based coloring agents
Experiment:
- Combine the flour and oil slowly and mix well.
- Add the coloring agent of your choice! Experiment with different options.
But Why!?
Even though there is no actual sand in this recipe, it still acts like the wet sand from the beach, molding together and holding its shape when you play with it. The oil coats the flour and allows it to bond temporarily with the other oiled flour to be able to form sand castles and towers!
Three ingredient kinetic sand
Supplies:
- 5 parts sand
- Fine decorator sand, craft sand, or regular sandbox sand
- Colored sand will add a fun visual to your finished product
- 3 parts flour or cornstarch
- 1 part oil – vegetable oil or mineral oil (baby oil)
Experiment:
- Combine the sand and flour together and mix well.
- Add the oil to the sand/flour mixture and blend well.
- Build, cut with cookie cutters, squish between your fingers, have fun!
But Why!?
This kinetic sand acts like the wet sand from the beach, molding together and holding its shape when you play with it. The oil coats the flour and sand allowing it to bond together with the other flour/sand to be able to form sand castles and towers!
You can also press it flat and use cookie cutters to make sand shapes!
Moon Sand (Hydrophobic Sand)
Supplies:
- Sand of any sort – the finer the better – colored sand is fun!
- Scotch guard or any waterproofing spray
Experiment:
- In an open air location, using a tray or pan (protected by foil or parchment paper) spread a thin layer of sand on the tray and spray the waterproofing spray onto the sand.
- Wait 5-10 min for it to dry, then spread the sand around or shake the tray and spray it again to try to cover all sides of the grains of sand.
- Do this a few more times in order to cover the sand entirely, letting the sand dry between coats.
- Once it is all dry, try pouring the sand into a bowl or cup of water and see what happens.
But Why!?
The waterproofing spray is an oil based polymer that does not mix with water. Therefore, by coating the sand with the polymer it repels the water and stays dry even under water!